Harris celebrates namesake's space walk

Harris Middle School recently celebrated the 18th anniversary of the space walk of Dr. Bernard A. Harris, the school's namesake. Sheriden DeCastro's sixth-grade Advanced Contemperary Literacy (ACL) students commemorated the special occasion with a "Space Junk" flash mob in the school cafeteria prior to the 1st period bell.

"I wore blue coveralls to represent that the Earth is 70 percent water and a green shirt to represent the 30 percent land. My inflatable belly represented the gravitational pull of the Earth," said DeCastro.

The students used aluminum foil, silver duct tape, and other household items to create costumes representing space junk, debris from spacecraft, such as rockets, satellites, shuttles, and the International Space Station.

DeCastro began rotating on stage to the music "Space Jam." ACL students slowly rotated through the cafeteria and up to the stage to begin orbiting around the Earth (DeCastro). An informational PowerPoint on space junk was shown during the flash mob.

"The flash mob really got my attention," said eighth grade student Tiffany. "It was a fun way to learn about a topic I hadn't really considered before."

Teacher Sheriden DeCastro celebrates a great flash mob with students dressed as "space junk."